


She Comes And Goes Without A Warning

by HDH0111



Series: All The Gold Sold At The End Of The Rainbow [7]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Dorks in Love, Epic Friendship, F/F, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Love, Love Confessions, National Women's Soccer League, True Love, US Women's Soccer National Team
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:40:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21737743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HDH0111/pseuds/HDH0111
Summary: Emily and Lindsey are pretty much best friends since playing for the USWNT together for the first time in 2015.They ended up sharing an apartment, making gorgeous memories and establishing wonderful friendships with their teammates.Now that almost everything fell into place for both of them, breakups and new relationships between their friends shake their world.This puts Sonny's and Horan's relationship to the test more than one time.Were they even in love or were they only friends with benefits?Go and read for yourself...
Relationships: Lindsey Horan/Emily Sonnett
Series: All The Gold Sold At The End Of The Rainbow [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1525262
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. The Honesty

**Author's Note:**

> “I built a room for you in the back of my mind  
> Where the ravenous wolves and the ghosts I know reside  
> You were amazing, you were always on my mind  
> We were secrets to keep, crows buried side-by-side  
> But we tasted a kiss that was sent from below  
> It was cool in the night, I was old as a stone  
> In the back of a car with a child at heart  
> Who suddenly showed you their teeth”

**Emily’s POV**

This morning Sonnett was on her way to meet her teammates Kelley O’Hara and Mallory Pugh at their favorite restaurant in Portland. The three of them hung out regularly during the off-season. The three friends usually switched their off-season meeting location yearly and this time Portland was their destination. A nice coincidence for Emily as well as Kelley because Em lived here with her friend and kind of affair Lindsey Horan. In O’Hara’s case it was good to leave her chosen hometown Utah for a while because she had split from her longtime partner two months ago. Emily assumed the freckled defender didn’t want to spend more time than necessary discussing which item belonged to whom with her ex.

After a 15 minute walk, she arrived at 2448 East Burnside Street where their go-to restaurant Tusk was located. As soon as she went inside, her two friends were waving heavily so the tiny defender could find their table a lot easier on a day like this, when almost every seat in the house was taken. “Saucy Sonny is in da house!”, Kelley and Mallory yelled for the whole restaurant to hear as Sonnett sat down between those two at their corner table. “Guys, for fuck’s sake, don’t scream in my face”, Em replied immediately with her hands covering her ears while laughing about her mates’ stupidity. “You know you love us”, Mal justified their dorky behavior but ended up laughing even harder than her opposite.

Only a few short minutes later, the triple threat team ordered hummus, tomato saffron rice, chicken skewers and a variety of vegetables to share all together. “You didn’t ask for a salad today? Are you dying or something?”, Pugh wondered, making a shocked expression in Kelley’s direction. The only answer she got was a long, depressed sigh. Emily and Mallory gave each other a clueless look, then Sonny decided to address Kelley’s odd taciturnity, “You’re draining our vibes, Kell. What happened in the past 24 hours?” O’Hara rested her head on her arms on the still empty table and mumbled incomprehensibly.

Emily softly moved one of Kelley’s arms away and pressed her own head against the one of the sad defender. “Sorry?” No reply by the depressive friend. Suddenly they were interrupted by the waiter who brought their delicious looking meals. While the nice employee was still standing right next to them to hand them unused, buffed cutlery, KO laid it all on the table because she knew that her opposites wouldn’t want to laugh about her issues while the restaurant’s staff was with them. “Alex’s found a new housemate in JJ. They’re moving in together and I’m almost 100% sure they’re sharing a lot more than just a home already.”

Even though the packed restaurant’s noises were too loud to understand conversations from another table, to Emily it seemed as if everybody had shut up for 5 seconds. Everything stood completely still for a brief moment until Sonny’s fast heartbeat brought her back to reality. She lifted her head from the table, Kelley did the same and all three women looked really puzzled. Mal began voicing her thoughts, “I might have missed something during our previous meetings this week because I’m totally lost on what’s wrong with Al and Julie moving in together. Didn’t she just split and file for divorce from Servando a week ago? Means she’s single, right?” Emily would have liked to fill Pugh in on the details but she knew it wouldn’t be fair to take this chance from Kelley, so she waited patiently for the freckled Utah defender to respond. “Mallory Diane Pugh, I cannot believe how ignorant you are. Remember when I told you about what happened between Morgan and me during last year’s World Cup?!”

Judging from the facial expression of the young one, she had absolutely zero idea what Kell was referring to. Sonnett remembered quite well though. It was the story about how Alex and Kelley bonded over the tough competition and the unnerving physical torture they experienced when training between the matchdays. Eventually they got closer, even closer than teammates. They had a longtime kind of relationship, one may call it an affair, when they had shared an apartment years ago. Still they went back to being friends after Al had met Servando who became her husband later on. All of this gave O’Hara a hard time, especially the moment Alex left to go back home after their long-lasting World Cup celebration, because then it was obvious that Kell was definitely head over heels while Morgan ignored every memory made prior.

“Oh yes, sorry. I forgot about it. Maybe I tried to suppress those painful days. No offense, babe”, Mal replied after Kelley had just told her everything once again while Emily replayed it in her head and clearly didn’t listen to her mates. O’Hara ignored that because she knew Sonnett really well and certainly understood that she hadn’t forgotten about any of their pep talks about falling in love with the right person at the wrong time.

Out of the blue, Lindsey Horan knocked on the window behind the three women’s bench in the corner and scared all of them for a second. Pugh gestured like crazy until the tall midfielder joined her teammates inside, borrowing a chair from the table next to them so she wouldn’t have to stand the whole time. “Hey guys, what are you up to? Kelley’s face raises suspicion from miles away. If it’s about killing someone, don’t tell me. I love you but I won’t go to jail for you”, Horan explained with a lot of curiosity in her voice. KO shook her head, then knocked it onto the table again, remaining in this position. Meanwhile Emily took over for her and answered the questions, “It’s code red here, Linessi. O’Hara got information on Baby Horse and The Beast moving in together. Word on the streets is that’s more than a friendly divorcee gathering.”

The waiter interrupted their conversation briefly to ask for an additional order from Lindsey who quickly asked for some chickpea fries. Afterwards they resurrected the Ertz-Morgan topic by Horan realizing, “Holy fuck, that’s worse than a low blow. I’m so sorry to hear that, Kell.” The tall woman tapped KO’s back caringly and ate some of the tasty fries which had been brought over to her only a minute after the order had been made. “It’s alright. I just really wanna rip my heart out of my body and burn it with the liquor Morgan gave me as a gift on my last birthday.” This made all four of them laugh shortly but Kelley’s eyes were still utterly sad and tearing up, so Sonnett wrapped her arms around the depressed teammate and whispered in her ear, “The only glimpse of paradise on earth is to fight in a losing cause… and not to lose it, to say it in the words of G.K. Chesterton.” “Actually it’s ‘the one glimpse’ instead of ‘only’ but I’m still very proud of you, Sonny”, Lindsey added and beamed widely because she didn’t know her friend was able to remember anything about one of her favorite authors.

“Yeah guys, we’re glad to know you two are still going strong. It’s good to know true love exists but we’d love you to love each other at home far away from our sight. Now back to me crying my pretty eyes out over America’s favorite forward.” Kelley’s mood dropped very fast so all her friends kept quiet until they had finished their shared big meal. This cheered the sad defender up a little, at least enough to ask Mallory out for a shopping date this afternoon. According to O’Hara, neither Emily nor Lindsey were allowed to join them because “their lovebird behavior is toxic to my eyes”. It was fine with both of them to be honest. Hanging out with Kell during her heartbreak times wasn’t the most pleasant thing to do as everyone can imagine.  
\-----------------------------------------------------  
**Lindsey’s POV**

“Are we walking home?”, Em asked while she left Tusk with Lindsey close by. Her opposite shook her head in disagreement, pointed over to the other side of the street and answered, “We don’t have to. Got my car right over there.” Obviously Emily felt a bit bad for not noticing Horan’s white BMW because she knew how much her mate cared for vehicles. Horan didn’t bother saying anything though. They got in the car, Lindsey being the driver of course and Em switching through the playlist’s songs on the BMW’s touchscreen. She was always trying to be the best passenger seat DJ one has ever seen. It was her destiny, she believed, and Lindsey totally agreed because she loved her friend’s music choices.

The drive home didn’t take long even though Linessi stopped to get coffee for both of them on the way. “It’s your favorite, as always”, Lindsey said when handing Sonnett the cup. “With some sprinkles of kindness?”, Emily asked like she did every time because it was their coffee ritual. A smirk came up on the driver’s face and she put her hand on Em’s thigh on their way home.

When they finally arrived at their apartment, Lindsey placed the keys on the table near the entry and sipped most of her coffee in the blink of an eye while heading over to the living room. Emily joined her partner in crime on the couch a little later with some chocolate crisps. As soon as the tiny defender sat down and moved as close to her tall friend as possible, Horan tried to steal some crisps but failed miserably because Sonny was faster and pulled the bag away. “You’re only getting some if you tell me what’s on your mind. I know you’re not that quiet during drives usually.” “Fine, I’ll die of starvation then”, was the only response she got in return. They knew each other long enough to understand that this rejection meant they weren’t allowed to bother one another with questions for the next five minutes. Emily obeyed and laid her head on her teammate’s shoulder while they watched TV peacefully.

_Poor Kelley, I totally get her. Her relationship thingy with Morgan seemed to get really deep during the World Cup in 2019. Of course nobody really expected Alex to split from her husband anytime soon but it was always clear to most of us that if it happened, O’Hara would be there to dry her tears and become her new partner._ It was a painful experience for Lindsey to hear about Julie being the new main woman to the team’s captain. This reminded her too much of what her own current relationship situation felt like. Two months ago when pretty much the whole National Team had heard the news from Kelley’s breakup with her latest girlfriend, Horan had been horrified for days because she knew all too well what Emily’s feelings for the freckled defender had been. There was definitely more than simple friendship between the two of them and knowing Kelley was single made Lindsey feel like she was just about to lose her beloved Saucy Sonny.

“I’ve waited for six minutes, is that enough tension for you now?”, Em wanted to know while pecking Linessi’s cheek a couple of times. Tiny frowned in anticipation for a positive answer, smiling softly because she was aware of how hard it was for Horan to say no to her cute, weird face. Lindsey started laughing and wrapped her arms around the slim woman, holding her close and nearly crushing the bag of crisps. Nobody cared about the food anyway, so Sonnett let it fall onto the carpet beneath the white sofa. “You want a serious answer from me with that cute face of yours right next to me? I’m trying but I’m no god yet”, The Great Horan admitted openly while her sweet opposite climbed on top of her to wrestle her down. Emily tried to torture the tall midfielder by denying her the much wanted kiss. It would’ve been an easy task to win the battle but Lindsey didn’t want to ruin the moment and stayed put like a nice girl.

Sonny grinned victoriously, “Answer me, Linessi! Which evil plan is forming in your smartass brain?” “Yes, I will answer honestly but”, the tall one responded and pulled her tiny partner closer quickly, “I need you to promise that you’ll let me finish without interruptions.” Em nodded heavily and steadied her body on top of Horan because this got serious very fast and she wanted to give her mate all attention available. Lindsey cleared her throat two times, then explained nervously, “It’s unsettling to me that Kelley is single, as dumb as it sounds to everyone else, that’s my truth. I mean, I trust you and this is not about you betraying me or anything of this sort. You’d never do such a thing and I won’t ever doubt it. What I’m worried about is that I know your feelings even better than you do and this situation might be tempting to you on various occasions. I understand that but I really don’t want to wake up to find your side of the bed empty with a letter saying how much you loved our time together but that you can’t stay here because you want to be with Kelley.”

Lindsey’s heart was beating really loudly during this confession but it eased up once she had finished and Emily instinctively kissed her tenderly. Then she rested her head on Horan’s steadily rising and falling chest, looking up to her lover with a soft smile, telling straight from the heart, “Thanks for the honesty, Lindsey. I know that was tough and I appreciate it. You know how I’ve felt about Kelley for a long time and I can’t deny that some of these feelings are still present. The one thing I want to promise you though is that I’ll always fight for what you and I have because we’re the ones I truly wish to work out, nobody else. I will not run someplace else before both of us have done everything in our power to keep our relationship alive.”  
Lindsey wasn’t a really emotional woman but in this moment she had to pull herself together really hard to keep her tears from falling. Her eyes were wet and as Emily raised her head a bit, Horan saw that it wasn’t an easy topic for her either. Then suddenly the tiny woman pulled up the bag filled with delicious chocolate crisps and said, “Now you deserve some of them, baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading through the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it.  
> Please leave kudos, comments, subscriptions and every feedback you'd like.  
> Lots of love <3


	2. Voice of a Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelley's spent pretty much every minute at Emily and Lindsey's apartment, Alex Morgan being the main topic of their discussions.  
> Will Soran be nice friends and pet O'Hara's back while she's crying?  
> Find out in chapter 2...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “One: You've got to take it kind of slowly  
> Two: You've got to hurry up and make your move  
> Three: You've got to tell her how you're feelin', and  
> Four: You've got to be the perfect gentleman  
> You shake a wall  
> You've got to make it bend, yeah  
> You've got to show her that she's a balance beam  
> And I keep falling all around her fairy tale.”

**Lindsey’s POV**

Kelley had been over at Lindsey and Emily’s apartment for basically two days straight, only going back to her hotel to catch about five hours of sleep. “I know it sounds pretty bitchy but I want Al to be happy with me and I mean only me”, O’Hara repeated for what seemed like the tenth time during the last hour. _Yeah, that sounds bitchy. And sneaky too. I’m not judging obviously._ Em put her hand on the guest’s shoulder and comforted her with some kind words, “No, it’s perfectly fine. You’re allowed to be angry about it. You two have a lot of history and I guess Alex should’ve considered her options before going all in with Julie. I mean, she should’ve chosen you because you know her better than anybody and you make her really happy.”

_Hell Emily, you’re gonna get yourself killed for buttering O’Hara up like that. By the way, people’s history has nothing to do with their relationship status. Five more minutes of this shitshow and I’m going to choke one of them to death._ Lindsey couldn’t stop rolling her eyes over the whole topic. Heartbreak was difficult without a doubt but Morgan was free to do whatever pleased her. Kelley had been in a relationship herself until two months ago, never wasting even the slightest thought on how Alex felt about it. Two days ago, Horan would’ve called O’Hara’s problem very serious and totally relatable but after all this talk about nothing but this one topic she was drained and simply couldn’t bear it anymore.

“I’m gonna shower so we can get some nice dinner out in town later, okay? Linds is a great listener so just have a seat on the couch and she’ll be glad to assist you with some advice too, am I right?”, Emily wondered innocently and gave her partner this really intense look. The one where it was obvious that no wasn’t an option. _Thanks for helping out with the decision whom to kill, honey!_ Lindsey sent a deeply stressed look in return but Em gave her a confident thumbs up expression and left for the bathroom as quickly as possible.

Kelley literally dragged her tired body from the kitchen table to the sofa which had been Horan’s safe haven from the whole relationship discussion till now. The small defender slumped onto the couch and let out a long sigh of distress. There was no way Lindsey would get away without engaging in a conversation and that’s why she wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible, asking, “Kell, don’t get so upset about it before you’ve talked to Morgan. By the way, why haven’t you talked to her over the past two months since your breakup?” O’Hara looked at her USWNT colleague with regret in her eyes, explaining with a lowered voice, “Al and I facetimed pretty often after my split, always talking it all through. She tried so hard to convince me that I did the right thing that I ended up thinking she’d ask me out on a date herself eventually. I tricked myself, I guess.”

“Actually that’s totally sad indeed”, Horan agreed, unaware that this had been an unintended confession about how she hadn’t seen the seriousness in Kelley’s feelings prior to this sentence. Her opposite got the hint but didn’t bother bashing Lindsey for it because she was too tired after the two days of discussion.

Five minutes of devastating silence went by in slow-motion, then the guest recapped the story for the tenth time today, “You know, Alex and I always had a blast in camps, during the cups and even when we played on opposite sides of the field. She’s my soulmate and I believed I was hers. How could she forget about me? She wasn’t even that close to Julie. My gosh, how could she do that to me? I’ll never get it.” This rant was exactly the same as the previous nine, driving Lindsey crazy because she wanted to comment on every single word but she breathed and did her best to look calm once again. Unfortunately, Kelley knew her teammate well enough to look through this move, so she clarified immediately, “It’s fucking obvious that you want to say something about this, Linds. Please do so because I’m sick and tired of hearing my dear Emily’s words of support which bear no meaning at all. I’m well aware that you’re also Alex’s friend. You know both of us. Just go on and speak your mind.” _Don’t do that. Before you say anything, consider jumping out of the window. You don’t want to be here when the backlash hits you. I repeat: Don’t tell her what’s inside of your head or you’ll not get out of this alive._

Everyone who knew even the slightest bit about Lindsey had been able to predict her next move. “You’re not gonna hate me for very long so here’s my honest opinion. Morgan and you are very close and have been best friends for as long as I can remember. You had lots of fun while doing the USWNT tours and camps. That’s all basic knowledge. You hooked up during your shared apartment times and on other dates too. In the end, even though it hurts to comprehend this, none of it matters. It’s Alex’s decision whom to couple up with and neither of us has to understand the reasons…”

The usually quirky defender looked very depressed by what her teammate had just explained and she didn’t seem to fully get it, so Lindsey continued, “You haven’t told Al about your feelings in years and now you’re acting like a let-down kid. It’s alright to feel mad about it but it isn’t Alex’s fault. It’s nobody’s fault actually. Things just haven’t played out well for you two to be together. Don’t act like a spoiled child now.” This hit home and Kelley couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. Horan didn’t feel great about her words but it had been necessary for O’Hara to hear, so she would pull herself together again. The midfielder hugged her friend just as tears started streaming down her face. She felt a little relief from Kelley’s side as her shoulders eased up. Then she explained in a soft tone, “Just give yourself time to collect your thoughts and think it through but as soon as you’re ready, go for it and tell Alex everything. Talk to her about your feelings but don’t get angry. That’s not gonna help and you don’t want to push her away.” O’Hara didn’t respond in any way but it was obvious that she heard Lindsey’s words clearly and understood everything as far as her situation allowed her to.

The two mates hugged for some more minutes until Kelley felt safe enough to let go. Then she wondered right away, “How the hell do you know all that stuff. Are you some kind of psychiatrist during off-season or what?” Lindsey laughed softly and replied, “It’s very easy once you’ve done it for the first time. Talking about your emotions or even love to someone really isn’t rocket science.” Kell wiped the tearstains from her face and even showed a little smirk to Horan, then put her hand on the taller one’s shoulder and said, “That’s exactly the reason why you have Emily while I am whining like a dog. You’re a very brave human, young one.”

_______________________________

**Emily’s POV**

After the three women had had a fancy dinner out in town, they dropped Kelley off at her hotel. She seemed to be stable enough to spend the rest of the evening and night on her own without having a mental breakdown over Alex anymore. Much to Emily’s happiness, they’d get to spend one night in peace, only the two of them. While Lindsey drove, Em put her hand on her thigh, then requested, “Can we drive to our favorite spot on earth before heading home, please?” Horan’s face lit up instantly. She loved that place so much that she would’ve never said no. “Yeah, we can do that but only if you promise you’re going to wear your sweater from the trunk. It’s still really chilly outside and I have no use for an ill Sonny.” Em laughed, knowing quite well that her mate was right. “Yes, mum!”, she agreed jokingly.

The pair arrived after five minutes, parking the car near the eastern end of Laurelhurst Park. As Sonnett left the vehicle, she intentionally forgot to take the sweater but Lindsey knew her too well so she opened the trunk and picked it up herself. _It’s impossible to fool her, dang it!_ They went over to the park’s pond and sat on a bench right next to the still water. “I can’t get over the fact that someone moved our lovely bench. It fucks with my mind every time”, Lindsey commented while they looked at the nice pond. “Calm down, it’s only been moved some inches to the right. It didn’t even change the spectacular view.” “The fuck Emily, the amazing view hasn’t changed because I make it great and I am still here, obviously”, Lindsey stated confidently, gesturing a lot for she couldn’t understand how her opposite hadn’t realized that already.

Em laughed so much about this playfully salty comment that she nearly choked, repeating Lindsey’s usual praise speeches, “I know, the Great Horan saves every day and every sight, just like a human version of the Eiffel Tower. Everyone wants to see it but nobody will truly comprehend its beauty and magnitude.” Horan happily wrapped her arms around the blonde defender, kissing her cheek a few times, before demanding, “Say it in French, ma petite amie.” _She sounds so sexy when speaking this fucked up language which I don’t understand. Thankfully she’s taught me two or three catchy phrases._ She cleared her throat which gave her time to remember the exact pronunciation, then she put on her best fake-French accent and whispered, “Je suis folle de toi. Je t’aime, ma chérie.”

“Your articulation is getting better every time, baby”, Lindsey whispered back, stretching her neck to reach her favorite person. Emily instantly locked lips with her, freeing one hand from the embrace and placing it on Linds’ neck. The troublesome conversations with their teammate over the past two days had been wiped away as their tongues touched one another passionately. Their hearts were racing and the tension was rising every second. Em didn’t have enough strength to restrain herself, although it was such a public spot, so she pushed Lindsey backwards down onto the wooden bench. Sonny caressed her lover’s jaw and neck with what seemed like a thousand kisses, making the midfielder moan lustfully. The smaller woman smiled during a tender French kiss, then leaned back for a bit to remind her opposite, “You’re not getting sex here, honey. You should know me better by now.” “Fuck all this teasing”, Lindsey cursed and immediately lifted Sonnett’s whole weight with her as she got up from the bench, running towards her car in a hurry with her partner clinging tightly to her chest.

This was going to become a really long night filled with love and sin, maybe even in the car if Lindsey would be too lazy or too excited to wait until they arrived at home. _I couldn’t love you more, my Linessi._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for taking the time to read chapter two.  
> I hope you liked it. If you did, please consider leave kudos, comments and subscriptions!  
> Lots of love + happy game day for all fans of the USWNT!


	3. Can You Take It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing's better than reminiscing with your friends!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Welcome my friends to the show  
> Dance and drink if you'd like or sit back and take notes  
> It's a fine night to test what you know  
> Who you fear, who you love and who you cling to for hope”

**Emily’s POV**

Mal had come over in the afternoon to help her two friends Em and Linds setting up two newly-bought shelves from IKEA. They had purchased them online and always needed help building stuff like this. The first rack was finished in an hour because Emily kept talking rather than working. Now they were onto the second one, with Lindsey holding two long, white boards in her hands while Sonny and Pugh tried to count the screws without losing half of them in the tiny voids on the apartment’s wooden floor. “Guys, hurry up. I’m not Hulk”, Horan complained, still lifting both boards at the same time. “You’re wearing more clothes than Hulk, that’s the real problem. I can definitely help you with that”, Emily joked with an overly flirty look on her face. Mal punched the small blonde on the arm and commented, “I didn’t come over from my friend’s house to watch you guys get it on. Be productive for once and keep the screws together.”

Five minutes later, Em was still trying to figure out their issue with the screws, “This one is size small, these four are size medium. Who the hell only needs one screw for anything? What is it supposed to fix?!” The tired Lindsey let out a loud sigh, leaned the two boards against the wall and sat beside her friends. “It’s just one single screw. We can ignore it until we’ve finished building the shelf and then find a good use for it once everything is in place. Let me see, size medium, here’s size large…” Emily interrupted her partner’s workflow by stating with confidence, “No, it’s reckless to ignore the small one. The shelf might be fine for a bit of time and later collapse onto us. Everything has to be in place in order for things to work properly. That’s common sense.”

For once Mal had listened to Sonnett’s words and added, “It’s like playing soccer with an amazing group of players and deciding to leave the goalie on the bench. Lys, Ash and AD are our single screws that hold it all together. We’d be fucked without them.” All Horan was able to do was laugh and respond, “Alright, I get it. You’re right. So, where the heck do we need to put Alyssa?” Long story short. They’d been staring at the manual for quite some time until they agreed to fix it some other day next week and order pizza instead.

An hour later, the three teammates sat on the couch, watching TV and eating their huge pizza slices peacefully without wasting another thought on the shelf problem. Out of the blue, Mallory was wondering while chewing some of her pizza, “I’m curious who’ll hook up with whom during the upcoming camp. It’s always so much fun to hear all the rumors.” Emily took a huge bite, almost died swallowing it and watched how Lindsey started losing her mind over Mal’s words. It was totally obvious to the midfielder’s partner that the plain thought of the camp traditions bothered her very much. “How about all participants keep their hands to themselves for once?”, Horan recommended with a high-pitched voice.

Pugh was totally overwhelmed by the usually so soft blonde’s reaction, giving her a puzzled look for a minute straight, unable to say anything. Em put her free hand on Linds’s thigh, adding jokingly, “That’d mean I won’t be allowed to touch you either. I’m definitely not down for that.” “Gosh, you guys are so cringy sometimes”, Mallory griped loudly, followed by laughter from all three women. “Honestly though, I don’t want any of them close to you. I mean in a sexual way, of course. We’re all friends and I get that. They’re family basically. Just no touching under the covers”, Linessi repeated her previous comment with a lot more emphasis on the distinction between friendship and sexual intercourse. “Someone’s afraid to lose Sonny. Whoop whoop. When’s the marriage?”, Pugh added kiddingly. “I hate you, Pugh!”, Lindsey screamed at the dark-haired woman and threw a pillow in her direction, almost hitting her lover instead. Emily found this reaction kind of cute and laid her head on Lindsey’s shoulder.

After the three had finished laughing about their odd chemistry as two plus one, Emily thought about the potential series of hookups during the upcoming camp in detail. Usually she didn’t give any fucks about who went upstairs with whom and the gossip from her teammates couldn’t be taken seriously most of the time either. Still one question came to her mind and she shared it with her two colleagues immediately. “I’m just curious how Chris and Tobin will go on. Their relationship seems pretty messed up and I’m worried this might kill the mood after the training sessions.” “I agree. Nobody’s sure what’s happened but they’ve changed so much and there’s a lot of stuff unsaid obviously”, Mal added with her serious thinker expression. “I heard there was some kind of cheating involved but that’s just rumors”, Lindsey remembered. “Every single camp is based mainly on infidelity, so you have to be more specific. Who do you think hooked up with whom? Did Tobin cheat or was Christen the mean one?”

There was no proof that would lead to an instant solution without asking either of them, so Emily drew a line to a similar situation which had been confirmed a while ago. “Maybe it is more like the Solo-Wambach thing from back in the days. Remember?” Mal nodded heavily, summing it all up for Lindsey who clearly had no idea, “You mean when Abby made a habit out of using Hope whenever they could during camp sessions and ended up getting divorced from her wife Sarah Huffman? Yeah, I remember this vividly. I joined the team only a few months after that misery and everyone kept referring to it as the worst heartbreak story ever.”

Suddenly Linds recalled those old stories too, “Just like when Morgan and Wambach were a thing prior to the Solo drama. Becky’s still rambling about it whenever she’s drunk.” “I guess the G.O.A.T. Abby Wambach messed with many teammates’ heads. I feel lucky that I didn’t have to witness all of it until I joined the team in 2015 actually”, Emily confessed, looking up at Horan’s face, unwilling to lift her head off of the tall one’s shoulder. Looking into her eyes hurt a little bit because she had confessed to Sonnett that she used to have a crush on the legendary forward Abby Wambach during their three years of being on the team together. The small defender whispered “I’m sorry” so only Lindsey would hear it but her opposite only gave her a wink and didn’t seem to be bothered too much fortunately.

Then Pugh couldn’t restrain herself any longer and let out the question everyone wanted to leave unasked. “Whom did you have some fun or drama with over the course of time? I haven’t been with the team long enough to know everyone’s guilty pleasures yet.” Now Emily felt the urgency to sit up straight, taking her head off of her partner in crime. The two blondes didn’t look at each other, trying to figure out a way to ignore the question without making Mallory feel like an idiot. Even though she was an idiot for asking of course. Sonny felt insecure but the pressure to answer overwhelmed her, so she replied, “I don’t think I have to answer this because mine has been well-discussed already. There hasn’t been anybody besides Linds and Kelley so far.”

In the meantime, Horan didn’t look too happy with the question, shifting in her seat a little bit. Eventually she got herself to say something, her voice slightly higher than usual, “I don’t recall a lot of drama on my side. I once had a fun night with Dahlkemper but that was two or three years ago… What about you, Pugh?” The dark-haired woman thought long and hard about her reply, wearing a reflective frown. “If I remember correctly, Rose and I snuggled up really close once during last year’s final camp.” Her voice sounded vulnerably cute and truly honest as if she desperately wanted to find a story to belong to the infamous soccer camp hookup club. Both Em and Linds couldn’t look at one another for they tried so hard not to laugh about their friend’s answer but were fully aware of Mal’s sexual uptightness. Without a lot of alcohol, nobody could even make her hold hands with someone unknown. In the end the two blonde best friends started laughing so hard, even Pugh joined in because the situation was just too funny to ignore.

_Two hours later…_ **(Lindsey’s POV)**

“You know, I liked the way your voice sounded when you admitted you’d spent a night with Abby D. earlier”, Emily declared while climbing onto the couch into Lindsey’s arm confidently. Horan stopped paying attention to the television program she was zapping through immediately, looking at her teammate in confusion. “I’m glad you did but what the hell was so likeable about it? Fill me in.” The midfielder felt Em’s head brushing against her shoulder. She was clearly getting ready for a long night of cuddling on the sofa while making fun of the lame T.V. shows, even though Lindsey was sure that the previous hookup talk should’ve been unsettling to her partner. Something felt off and it started creeping her out with every breath she took.

After almost a minute of silence between them, Sonnett answered the question finally, “I just enjoy us being free and honest about everything. There was a time when you wouldn’t have confessed something like this to anybody. I love your progress… our progress.” Horan’s heart skipped a beat and she couldn’t help but stare at her opposite in awe. “I was sure you’d be mad about it and give me the silent treatment but now you’re happy about it? I really can’t predict anything with you”, Linds confessed, pulling her partner’s face closer and kissing her forehead twice and still holding onto her face afterwards like it’s the most precious thing she’s ever seen. “See? I know you think I’m outgrowing you but that’s not the case. We’re growing together”, Em explained and kissed Lindsey’s lovely lips, unsatisfied by the previous forehead kisses obviously. “Well, that’s a bit too much cuteness for my taste but let’s not ruin the moment for once…”, Horan stated and laughed, then grabbed her favorite little human and kissed her passionately.

It hadn’t always been easy and many hard times lay still ahead of them but as long as they stayed together, everybody knew Horan and Sonnett were a force to be reckoned with…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read chapter three.  
> I hope you liked it. If you did, please consider leave kudos, comments and subscriptions!  
> Lots of love & happy Sunday!


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